By computing the phonon dispersions of a few selected solids (Si, C, Al, an
d Cu), within density-functional perturbation theory, we compare the perfor
mance of the local density approximation (LDA) with that of the generalized
gradient approximations (GGA's) in the form recently proposed by Perdew, B
urke, and Ernzerhof [Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 3865 (1996)]. We find that GGA sy
stematically lowers the frequencies of phonon branches with positive Grunei
sen parameters. This effect is correlated with the GGA's expansion of the l
attice constant, since GGA phonon frequencies computed at the experimental
lattice constants are higher than the corresponding LDA ones. In C, Al, and
Cu, LDA and GGA phonon dispersions have similar accuracy with respect to t
he experimental data. Si is an exception since the LDA phonon dispersions a
re already in very good agreement with experiment and GGA worsens the compa
rison. [S0163-1829(99)03339-1].